Describing herself as "plus-size all my life," Di Poce said she has long been interested in fashion and beauty magazines, but found representation of average-size women on their pages lacking.

The fourth-year fashion communications student at Ryerson University sought to help alter the landscape with Dare, her final-year project.

While geared towards curvier women, Di Poce didn't seen it as essential to put plus-size labelling on the magazine.

"I wanted to keep it more general in the way that any woman can look at the magazine and get inspiration from it," she said.

"(It's) just like how I pick up an issue of Elle or Flare ... even though I won't fit these outfits and I won't look like these models, I still get inspiration from it."

The 22-year-old said it was also important to have a Canadian focus. The debut edition includes Jeanne Beker discussing her collaboration with plus-size retailer Addition Elle, while designer Jessica Biffi of "Project Runway Canada" fame, Karyn Johnson of fashion blog Killer Kurves and MTV Canada's Sheena Snively share style picks.

In recent years, designers like Mark Fast, Sunny Fong and Jean Paul Gaultier have cast curvier catwalkers in their shows, while V Magazine and French Elle have had spreads showcasing plus-sized models.

Elle Quebec has made headlines for featuring Canadian plus-size model Justine LeGault on its May cover. Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M has also made a splash by having curvy model Jennie Runk showcase its beachwear collection.

Di Poce said while she appreciates the strides made by magazines to include plus-size models, she wants to see the efforts expand beyond one-time events.

"I think it's important for them to do that, but it's still seen as special," she said. "This is the average woman, so why aren't we seeing these (women) on newsstands?..Why aren't we seeing that more?"

Di Poce received guidance for Dare from Ben Barry, assistant professor of equity, inclusivity and diversity with Ryerson's school of fashion. Barry is also CEO of the Toronto-based Ben Barry Agency, which represents models of all different ages, sizes, backgrounds and abilities, and has been a vocal proponent of greater diversity in fashion.

Both Di Poce and Barry are encouraged by increasing representations of curvier women, including plus-sized label Allistyle being featured at Toronto's World MasterCard Fashion Week last fall. But when plus-sized models are featured in shows, it's frequently just a lone representative, Barry noted.

"It's still often done with a tokenistic approach," he said. "I think what Diana's done is really said that this is an important consumer that wants to be authentically represented."

Barry said the reasons surrounding the lack of representation for curvy women in the industry are complex, but small sample sizes rank among the prevalent issues.

"I think there's also resistance amongst the industry purely for institutionalized beliefs, this idea that a plus-sized woman may not be considered aspirational — even though that's very far from the truth," he said.

"I think it's an industry that has followed that belief. They think that consumers all aspire to a size 2 without realizing the diversity among consumers and the diverse aspirations and diverse ideas of beauty that consumers hold."

Di Poce plans to keep Dare as a digital-only publication for the time being and wants to expand the magazine to a quarterly publication.

ia. I couldn't not submit this. It made me really happy and I had to share. I really hope the fashion industry realizes that they need to change, and starting with magazines would definitely be a good start.

There is a difference between being curvy and being overweight. A lot of overweight people say they are curvy and that's their prerogative, whatever makes happy, but it's just not the case. Curvy does not equal unhealthy lifestyle, is what I am saying. And even with what I've said before, accepting yourself no matter what weight or shape and having a magazine promote that acceptance is not bad. At the end of the day people need to do it for themselves and if they simply don't want to, they shouldn't NOT be celebrated as a human being because of it.

Many women who are plus-sized models are regular-sized models, just they photograph bigger than they really are. Kim Kardashian is a good example of this- she's teeny tiny in person and smaller than probably half of all celebs. She's just curvy so she looks bigger than she is in pictures.

They still probably have a BMI of around 20-23 though of they wouldn't be shot. A BMI of 25 or above is considered overweight.

aww bb. I noticed that H&M's sizes got smaller over the years.I nowadays have to buy a size larger than I did before even though I have stuff from them from 3 years ago a size smaller that still fit me very well.

The sizing is just plain weird, tbh. And part of the problem is that with so many retailers offering "oversized" clothes, you get comfortable with being able to buy a sweater that's baggy for the intended customer, but fits you just fine.

Now that we're heading into non-stop bodycon, those glory days are over.

But either way -- I just find in general the North American branch is getting cheaper, tighter and pricier. I've given up at this point.

ia. I'm normally a size 6 in pants in most stores, but at h&m I have to squeeze into a size 10. Like, come on. ASOS curve has such cute clothes though. Way cuter than H&M imo, and they will last so much longer.

I find H&M sizing really strange...I think it's not made very well (not a big surprise given the prices). I bought two tops that were the exact same but in different colours - one is noticably smaller than the other even though they are the same 'size'!

I think their sizes must be shrinking, I have an adorable polka-dot sundress from about 5 years ago that fits just fine in the rack, but stuff in that same size now, even my skinnier cousins are buying 'normal-person' sizes instead of what they bought back then (and they haven't put on/redistributed weight either)

I think the plus size dept in H&M is very good, my mom shops there sometimes and says the sizes are very regular. They're generally good with 32-34 sizing but then suddenly it becomes one big mess, a 36 can be huge and a 40 can be tiny.

when i was in amsterdam, they had a plus sized h&m. i almost died of happiness. thank god they did too, cause my friend's bag got lost and she is larger than me, she would never have fit into the basic sizes.

i just found asos curve a few days ago and i've been eyeing their store tons. i hear the sizing is super inconsistant though which is a bummer.

i am not crazy about alot of the stuff there either, though i do enjoy their end of season sales! i hope we can trust her to give is something fierce, because i already have a cardigan collection that could rival sophia petrillo!

This sounds really weird, but part of the reason I'm almost hesitant to get down to my goal weight (or goal level of fitness) is that I've been overweight so long it seems like a really major part of my identity.

That, and I'm genuinely uncomfortable with being hit on and whenever I've lost weight in the past I've hated the attention.

This is the ultimate first world problem, but it's something that bugs me.

nah, girl, i get you. i've been overweight since high school, to varying degrees, and right now i've lost enough that i'm visibly smaller than i was before (yay!) but am still not skinny - and i can't seem to get past this point. never could when i tried before. the more i think about it, the more i think i might be doing some self-sabotaging for a lot of the same reasons you're concerned and uncomfortable. it's strange, and it's something i'm trying to work out for myself now. like... i haven't been "skinny" since puberty. i have no idea what i'll look like or feel like, and that's scary.

Yeah same. I've had a rather large belly since I was a toddler. I literally can't imagine not being fat. Sometimes I wonder if having a flat stomach just feels like sucking in your gut all the time (though obviously not). I just don't know.

And I get what you mean. I gained a lot of weight this year and this summer I'm going to do my best to lose it. A lot of people have been dropping hints that this is my opportunity to get skinny once and for all but idk. People treat you so differently when you're thin, in a positive way. I would be disappointed and sickened and wouldn't know how to feel about people I'd liked previously, or about my family. Then again, a major part of me wants to be thin. It's just really conflicting to me.

A lot of having a flat stomach IS sucking in all the time - training your transverse abdominis muscles to actively keep your stomach flat.

As someone who recently lost 25+ lbs and is thin for the first time in his life... people do treat you so radically different. I've literally had people I haven't spoken to in years messaging me online and approaching me in real life to "reconnect." Then again, I've also had to distance myself from people that didn't like to see me reach my goals.

At any rate, good luck to you in achieving YOUR goals :) You will succeed!!!

when i got down to my goal weight, it was like i wasn't even there yet. it was like, well what do i do next?

i know what you mean to some degree. but my goals have always been more important to me than that kind of outside attention - people are going to hit on people. that's just how it goes. don't let it halt your progress

This is cracking me up. But I often feel the same way. I don't think I'd be ZOMG DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, but some people DO treat thin people differently and that's a realization I'm scared to have. I feel like I'll just be so turned off by humanity bc of it. But for the sake of my health I need to keep striving.

I totally get the part about it being a major part of your identity. At this point I have accepted the fact that I'm not thin and it took me a long time to be okay with that and not hate myself for it. I know what clothes work for me and which ones don't, where to shop, how people perceive me etc. I am currently losing/have lost weight though and I am concerned that if I gain it all back it will just put me back to the self hate phase. And if I do keep off the weight it will put me out of my comfort zone.

i totally get what you're saying. i have a thyroid condition that i was put on medication for a year ago and i dropped 80 lbs in less than a year. i am by no means skinny but i don't think i want to be. i'm at a size where clothes look cute and i can find things in even the 'straight' sizes of some stores. of course, my gut can go diaf but i don't want to be super skinny.

Idk gurl, I used to be overweight and it felt awkward when guys hit on me, I always thought they were just mocking me or something. Then I lost weight and it happened more often, which was still awkward but the minute I started feeling good about myself, it stopped being weird and ended up being fun lol As soon as I started loving my body, regardless of the attention or anyone else's opinion, was the minute I felt in control and it really didn't matter if I went out and got hit on by 10 guys or none, everything still felt great.

semi-ot but probably not really ish

when i was 14 years old i bought my first dress with my own money from a store called Mode Plus. i actually think it's still around; i hoped it wasn't because the dress i got was shapeless and it was the only thing that hid everything i didn't want anyone to see. it was an unpleasant experience. meanwhile all my friends were shopping effortlessly at forever 21 and charlotte russe but i digress

since then Lane Bryant has come around, and a lot a lot a LOT more flattering styles for girls and women who are bigger have been marketed and sold in stores. which is wonderful.

i lost a lot of weight when i was 15 because i was tired of being the bigger girl. people can't believe when i tell them that i'm about 30 pounds less than i was in the 7th grade

idk i am torn -- happy that magazines are featuring different kinds and different sizes, honestly who knows a person's situation, we are born this way, etc. but at the same time, i lost a good chunk of weight and kept it off. i was a size 14-16 and was damn unhappy about it. i was apparently the average US woman's size and i hated it. now, i'm not stick thin but i'm not a big girl either. and in a way i think that the in between girls don't get represented as much.

anyway i'm rambling but that said - the cover is GORGEOUS, i also love what H&M has been doing, and i totally agree with the last line of the article -- fashion/style has no size. it's all how you werq it. go hard or go home, hell

Re: semi-ot but probably not really ish

I know what your saying bb and I agree. I'm in-between too. A lot of times, "curvy" is considered plus size, but there are not a lot of clothing stores that offer clothes for girls who are not plus size and have larger breasts. That's my situation right now tbh and I'm sort of upset about it. I have to shop in plus size sections sometimes because my boobs won't fit into anything else. I just wish more stores could make clothes for different body shapes and sizes. :/

Re: semi-ot but probably not really ish

I am thrilled that plus-size models are being booked but at the same time I do find these threads worrying. So many people argue that this model (and the one in the H&M thread) looks perfectly healthy, and while they are clearly not obese, anyone can see that they do have a bit too much weight on and could lose a few pounds. I'm not here for a society that is becoming increasingly overweight and not being able to see it themselves because everyone is getting bigger.

That being said, I would just love slim, healthy girls to be used and not the super thin models. And I'm annoyed at how slowly the industry is moving when it comes to these things, all though there are a lot of stores here that have started using size s-m mannequins which is great.

(trying not to body shame but it's kind of hard to debate this subject lol. People should be whatever size they feel like and I think these plus size girls look very nice! It's just scary when people can't see if a person is overweight or not because they're so used to seeing bigger people everyday/everywhere)

Re: semi-ot but probably not really ish

I'm a size 16 and it's weird because plus sizes can be too large for me but regular sizes will be too small. It's annoying. Plus I have small breasts so don't even get me started on that... I feel so awkward.

I started trying to get healthy last year and hope to lose more weight. I don't think I will ever be super thin but I am trying to better myself.

I am happy that you lost the weight and kept it off! Great job! That's just awesome.

I used to hate on thin girls a bit because of all the abuse I got because of my weight now I know everyone comes in all sizes. I love this and what I truly hope is that ALL sizes can be looked at as beautiful.